TV Restaurants

What Happened to Sticky Lips Barbecue After Man v. Food? (Rochester, NY)

Man v. Food, Season 4 Rochester, New York Closed 2018

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Sticky Lips Barbecue has closed — confirmed via spectrumlocalnews.com, September 26, 2018.

What the source shows: Spectrum News (2018-09-26) reported the Culver Road Sticky Lips closing due to weak sales, and Yelp's listing (updated 2026-04) marks 625 Culver Rd as permanently closed. How we decide a status →

What happened after Man v. Food?

Man v. Food (S4E20, aired 2011-10-19) featured Sticky Lips Barbecue, a hickory-smoked barbecue restaurant on Culver Road in Rochester, known for slow-smoked ribs and pulled pork. Sticky Lips Pit BBQ operated at 625 Culver Rd for roughly fifteen years. According to Spectrum News (2018-09-26), owner Howard Nielsen closed the Culver Road restaurant in October 2018, citing weak sales despite a recent building renovation. A new operator, Sticky Soul & BBQ, opened in the same building on 2020-02-20, according to Spectrum News, but RochesterFirst reported that restaurant closed in 2022.

Yelp's listing for Sticky Lips Pit BBQ at 625 Culver Rd was updated in April 2026 and marks the address permanently closed. The Sticky Lips brand continued at a second location on Jefferson Road in Henrietta; according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, via AOL, that location's owner was preparing to close it, per a June 2024 report.

The episode Man v. Food, Season 4

Episode 20
Aired
What was featured: hickory-smoked barbecue and pulled pork at the Culver Road restaurant
How Man v. Food restaurants have fared: 24% closed →

Also in Season 4 Man v. Food

Season 4: 41 of 68 still open · 7 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 27 Season 4 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 625 Culver Rd

All 448 TV restaurants in New York →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 4 references

  1. spectrumlocalnews.com https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/business/2018/09/26/sticky-lips-rochester-closing-culver-road-restaurant
  2. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/sticky-lips-pit-bbq-rochester-2
  3. rochesterfirst.com https://www.rochesterfirst.com/food-and-drink/sticky-soul-bbq-on-culver-rd-in-rochester-closes/
  4. aol.com https://www.aol.com/one-rochesters-most-enduring-popular-070527782.html
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Record mvf-253 · checked by Cal Marchetti.